


Busted

by Tormented_Gale



Category: Tales of the Abyss
Genre: Anise has it rough, Cats are a soft spot for Sync, Gen, Though he'll never admit it out loud, Tumblr Prompt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-10
Updated: 2015-10-10
Packaged: 2018-04-22 18:17:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 642
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4845521
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tormented_Gale/pseuds/Tormented_Gale
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Anise never thought, in a million years, she would see a softer edge to Sync's jagged personality.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Busted

Sync didn’t have a ‘soft spot’ for anything or anyone. There was no purpose behind such things, and the cruelty he relied on for survival wouldn’t allow for anything else. It was all fine by him, certainly. Each nitpick of someone else’s habits or choices made his own seem somehow more sane.

Anise knew all of this, or at least, she  _guessed_  most of it. The guy had infuriated her to the point of distraction, and could dig into wounds both old and fresh and rip them open as if they never had closed in the first place. It was better to take him out while he was in the open, exposed. He was still a powerful, dangerous opponent, but at least out here, he had no other tools to use except his wicked mouth and his artes.

Trailing after him, she kept a close eye on all of his movements, going as far as to follow him into an alley. Her hands closed into fists as she noticed the high walls, the lack of escape routes. Anise swallowed back her nerves, schooling her features into a glare, even as her heart pounded. He couldn’t know she was there, could he?

“You’re still here?”

She stopped dead, quickly ducking behind a tall, broken crate, and held her breath. Yet no arte followed the words, and she could almost swear there was a hint of fond exasperation in his voice. She glanced around the corner of her hiding place and found Sync crouched, unheeding of the garbage that was touching the back of his clothing. His hand was outstretched, fingers twitching as if coaxing.

Sure enough, a small mew came from the tiny cat that appeared, its dirty face soon rubbing against his fingers. Anise’s jaw dropped as Sync rubbed under its chin and around its ears, gloves stained with dirty water and fur.

“I thought I told you to go find someone else,” he said. The cat merely purred loudly - Anise could hear it from where she was hidden - and butted its head against Sync’s knees. He sighed and pulled a small packet from within his coat, shaking its contents out onto the ground. Pieces of meat fell to the ground and the cat immediately began nibbling on the food.

“You do realize eventually I won’t come back, right?” he asked, but the cat kept eating, oblivious to the question. “What happens when I abandon you?”

The cat daintily licked at its paws and cleaned its face. Anise almost giggled at the sight of Sync rolling his eyes and reaching out to rub the cat’s chin again. Beneath the matted fur, she thought she saw stripes, but it was hard to tell underneath the dirt.

“You’re too trusting,” he informed the cat. He kept petting it, gently, smoothing away its fur, and Anise moved so that she was fully hidden behind the crate. Sync’s clothing rustled as he moved to stand, and she once again held her breath as she heard him walk towards her hiding place.

“Don’t follow me,” he snapped, and she heard the resounding  _mew_  from the small feline. He moved past Anise without even a glance in her direction, his shoulders tense and hands fisted at his sides. Almost inevitably, the small cat followed in his wake until he left the alley. Anise knelt beside the small creature and added in her own pets.

“It’s okay,” she soothed, feeling heavier than when she started following Sync. The cat mewed at her. “I didn’t know he cared about anyone but himself either, kitty.”

Maybe… maybe Florian would like a little kitty. Anise scooped the small creature up and the cat merely curled up against her chest.

_This is the only favor I’ll ever do for you, Sync. And it’s not for you! It’s for this little ball of fur._


End file.
